An account of my pursuit of trying to deepen and intensify my Dharma practice, through TBC, Zen (Ch'an, Soen), Tibetan and Theravada traditions, Refuge Recovery, with book reviews, cultural notes, photography, and anything Buddhisty I can get my hands on.

Listening to Subhuti, I can't help but wish he'd write a kind of Confessions of an Atheist Buddhist, Stephen Batchelor type memoir, which is an intellectual tour de force. If he could combine his formidable intellect with a personal narrative, I would greatly wish for that. He'd probably prefer to be a man of action, he does so much in India and Turkey.

I have to think more about the criticism that the internet is superficial.

I love his talking about the danger of formalism, and connecting it with conditionality. One example is the focus on lineage, in which he quotes a sutra where the Buddha warns against that. I loved the phrase, "gravitational pull of the conditioned," which he also talks about in terms of reliance on rites and rituals in and of themselves. He sees the Buddha pointing to principles beyond the literal teachings.

He hammers on the monastic vs. lay dualism. He really pushes for authenticity and a meritocracy based on commitment to the 3 jewels.

"People absorb 20% from a screen compared to a book" He said he, "read it in a study." Please post a comment if you find this study.